在最後的晚餐中﹐ 耶穌分餅和喝酒時曾這樣對門徒說﹕「你們也應當如此行﹐為的是紀念我。」（Luke 22:19）這晚餐成了彌撒的雛型。

開始上慕道班後﹐我最近每個星期天都去望彌撒﹐可是我不禁疑惑﹕這不斷重複的儀式﹐究竟有甚麼意義呢﹖

這星期﹐我從圖書館借來了「感恩的麵餅」這個 tape﹐當中舉出了五個較為生活化（非歷史）的意義﹐大概如下﹕

1) Faith 信德
- What it means to be a Christian?
　　- We believe in Jesus, that he’s the truth, he can explain the meaning of life better than science can, he’s the son of God, and he forgives our sins and put us right with God
　　- Not only we are Jesus’ students, but we also want to know him, worship him, allow him to change our lives, and give ourselves to him
　　- Only then, baptism has its meaning
- Without personal commitment, Mass can be boring, because no one else can give meaning to it for us, just like no one else can believe in Jesus for us
- We need to refuel the love, power and presence of God in our heart
- Amen represents your assent or approval, it also means you believe and accept God’s love
- We say thank you to God by reaffirming our faith in each week’s Mass

2) Participation 參與
- No one attending the Mass is just a spectator, all is taking part in the celebration and sharing our faith with others
- We shouldn’t expect everything is done for us from beginning to end
- We offer sacrifice to our Father with Jesus

3) Worship 崇拜
- We need symbols in religion to express the unspeakable
- Together we worship God, give glory, honour and power to him

4) Community 團體
- Mass is Jesus’ meal of unity
- We unite to Jesus and to others in the community

5) Sacrifice 犧牲
- Originally it means making oneself holy for God, and Jesus offers his sacrifice in this sense
- Joining Mass means we’re ready to pay the cost for being a Christian, and handing ourselves to Jesus
- We don’t go to Mass because we’re good, but because we need to be healed
- We don’t go to Mass to escape from pain and evil, but to overcome them through God’s power
- In Mass, we reenact Jesus’ victory over evil and resurrection until he comes again, so his presence is seen in us

看完這個tape之後﹐才明白到彌撒背後的不少意義呢﹗

接下來﹐便是要從歷史的角度看了。